Wantong Market Set to Close August 31
Wantong Market is the latest victim of an urban renewal project that has shuttered nearly hundreds of small commodity and wholesale market.
The market officially gave notice to its tenants of its intention to shut down all operations by August 31.
With closure just two months away, Wantong Market shopkeepers have immediately launched clearance sales, hoping to liquidate their stock before time runs out.
READ: Market Madness: Which Beijing Wholesale Markets Are Still Standing?
Though not as popular as other Beijing markets, Wantong Market has been reliably serving its customers deals for 18 years in the Fuchengmen area of Xidan. Originally an upscale mall, Wantong Market transitioned into a small retail and wholesale market in 1999, and has the distinction of being the first five star-rated wholesale market in China.
The market once housed over 1,600 stalls spread out over 30,000 square meters of retail space located on five floors and a basement. However, reports say the Wantong Market began to phase out operations in 2015; with its fourth and fifth floors already closed last year, only three floors of shopkeepers still remain.
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Wantong Market is just the latest of a glut of market closures that have taken place across Beijing, coming right after last week's announcement to shut down Tianyi Market in September. The municipal government has been systematically closing local retail and wholesale markets, which attracts businesses from outside Beijing, as a way to limit the city's expanding population.
The news also comes after last week's protest at Beijing Zoo Market in which shopkeepers, angered at a lack of compensation, were seen tussling with police.
Wantong shopkeepers only have until today (Thursday) to agree to the terms of the rent cancellation in which they receive a 3,000 yuan bonus.
We'll always remember Wantong Market as a top destination for buying Halloween costumes and Christmas trees, but it was also a great place for deals on leather bags and shoes, school and home supplies. If you're feeling nostalgic, head on down to Wantong Market before it's too late, and maybe you'll be able to score a deal or two.
Wantong Market
2 Fuchengmenwai Dajie, Xicheng District
万通市场：西城区阜成门外大街2号
Images: BJ News (bendibao.com), Takefoto.cn
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